Remnants of the Empire
by sabertwins29
Summary: Remaining ships in the Imperial Star Fleet are causing havoc to the New Rebulic, and Luke,Leia,Han,and Chewie go to stop them. Chapter Six is finished. Please R&R. Thanks!
1. Default Chapter

Remnants of the Empire

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, or any of the characters.

Chapter 1

"Concentrate!" "Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through them." As Luke said these words, he thought back on the first time Obi-Wan had said the same thing to him. Back than he had really only just met the old Jedi Master, but in the short time he had known him, Obi-Wan had become like a friend and mentor to him. He had never gotten to know the man he had only known as Ben back on Tatooine. Luke's own father had killed him soon after he had started Luke down the path to become a Jedi.

"Luke, stop daydreaming and show me how to do this right!" As Leia's exasperated outburst cut through his thoughts, it was followed by a sharp cry of pain.

"Owww! That remote got me again!" As Luke deactivated the remote through the Force, he looked at Leia seriously.

"You aren't concentrating hard enough!" he reprimanded her. Stretch out with your feelings." He activated the remote again, as Leia ignited Luke's bright emerald green lightsaber with a sigh. Suddenly, the remote fired three quick bursts without warning. Leia reached deeply into the Force, and let it guide her. She twisted the blade around to block the first and second, and dove out of the way of the last bolt.

"See, you can do it!" said Luke encouragingly. "Now, only one more thing before we are done for today."

"Oh no! I'm already exhausted!"

"I know, so we aren't going to do anything too difficult. I'm going to show you how to Force jump, and then we'll be done for today."

"Force jump! That's impossible! It'll take hours!"

"No it won't, it's really easy. You just used the Force to block those bolts." he pointed out. "Don't worry, this will be easy."

"Okay."

"All you need to do is to reach into the Force, jump as high as you can, and the Force will work for you." "Do it a few times and then we will be finished for today."

"That's it?" she said, suspicious of her friend and master, as he always had a challenge for her. Her suspicions were well founded.

"Practice a few times, and then I will try to attack you with a training saber. You can dodge all you want, but you can't block my attacks, try to jump out of the way."

"Oh no, that's not too difficult at all is it?" Leia teased. "Why don't you just lift the entire forest, the training ground and you too, while you're at it?"

As Leia reached into the Force, she felt that familiar sensation of power, peace, and love, mingled together. She bent her legs, and jumped, with the Force propelling her upward. She flew much higher than she could have jumped on her own, even higher than she could have if she had used an electro trampoline. As she started to fall back down, her long brown hair was swept upward, and she struggled to stay straight. Her feet slammed onto the ground. Luke watched her, both of them beaming as she launched herself again into the air, her confidence growing as she felt herself more at peace with the living Force. She was elated at her newly found gift of flying into the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luke preparing to jump as well. She readied herself to dodge his attacks, and she reached farther than she ever had into the living Force, remembering the things that Luke had taught her.

"_Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force."_

As he swung at her, she ducked under his humming blade, and Force jumped over him. Her eyes shone with exhilaration, and she decided to try something new, something that Luke wouldn't be expecting. As he swung at her again, she flipped over him and his glowing blade. Her legs hit the ground, and she swung to face him again. She was surprised by his lightsaber humming softly, only inches from her throat. As he lowered the blade, he said, "Be mindful of your thoughts, they betray you. I sensed your actions through the Force, and so I knew what you were going to do."

"Now, try it one more time, this time with your training saber."

As Leia called her saber to her through the Force, Luke attacked her quickly, trying to catch her off her guard. She grabbed the saber, ignited it, and quickly blocked his swing at her legs. She pushed him away, and tried to press her advantage, but Luke was too fast for her. She swung at his chest, and he ducked. He jumped over her and tried to bring his blade down onto her head. To his surprise, she flipped backward, faster than he had ever seen her do before, and guarded herself for his next attack.

"Excellent move Leia." He shouted encouragingly. Leia took this as a cue to begin her attack again. She rushed him, hoping to get him off balance. Again he was too quick for her, jumping over her. She swung at his legs, his chest, and his head, all in quick succession, and each time, she was blocked. Simultaneously, they both flipped backwards, both out of the other's reach. For a few seconds, they stared at one another, both gasping for air. Suddenly, they sprang at each other again, and began their duel once more.

_Somewhere nearby, a completely different, but equally fierce battle was raging,_

"Oh idiot!" 3PO yelled at R2, who answered cheekily with a rude sequence of beeps and blips.

"Fine," he said,"I'm not going to do it that way. If you set the house on fire Master Luke will be very upset with you. I just wanted to give Master Luke and Mistress Leia a nice dinner after their long training practice. You had to come in here and mess it up!"

With that, the food on the pan ignited with a great whoosh, and C-3PO immediately began to berate and hit R2.

"Use your fire extinguisher!" he screamed at the droid. "Oh come on you great lump, the fire is rising!"

R2 used his extinguisher and put the fire out, but the food was charred beyond repair.

"Now look what you've done!" "You've ruined Master Luke's dinner, you've created burn marks on the ceiling, the whole kitchen is coated in extinguisher fluid, and according to my inner computer," 3PO exclaimed. "We have only 25 minutes and 41 seconds before Master Luke comes home."

They fiercely began to clean up the kitchen, but forgot to throw out the food. When Luke and Leia got back, all that was left of the accident was the pan full of a charred mess that used to be chicken, and a smoky odor in the kitchen. When Leia and Luke came in, they were in a playful debate over the outcome of their practice session.

"I almost beat you, and I would have too if…"

"Go on..." said Luke. "If I had let you win you would have." He said jokingly. "And I…" "Is something burning?" "3PO!" he yelled, "what's happening in there?"

"Nothing, Master Luke" he replied, "But, I was wondering do you like dark meat?"

"Sure", he said, "Why in the world would you ask that?"

Ignoring his question, 3PO answered with another question. "I mean really dark meat?"

"Sure", Leia said. "Why?" she replied, shooting a questioning glance at her brother.

"I mean really, really dark meat?"

"Umm, yeah, sure, 3PO. What are we having?"

With a sigh and slouched shoulders, C-3PO answered, "Ashes. It was all R2's fault. I was going to make you a nice dinner, but he ruined it."

Both Luke and Leia burst into laughter, and forgave the two droids while shaking.

"Its ok," he gasped after he could talk again, "I'm sure we have some nutrient tubes around."

After the brother and sister left the kitchen, 3PO remarked to R2, "That'll teach you not to mess things up, having them laugh at you for 10 straight minutes," and with a swift kick, 3PO left.

A few rude beeps and blips showed that R2 thought that was very funny and had every intention of doing it again.

_Later that night_

"Can you believe what R2 did today?" Leia said, chuckling.

"No, that was pretty funny" said Luke, also chuckling. "I also thought that your performance today was very impressive." He said, in a more serious tone.

"Really? I didn't think so."

"I did. I was so impressed that I think that it is time for you to begin building your own lightsaber."

"NO WAY! Do you really think so!"

"Yes, Leia, I really do. I think you're ready to become my padawan."


	2. Remnants of the Empire chp 2

Remnants of the Empire

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars (I wish) and Star Wars characters are not mine

"Hey guys, we're back!" yelled Han excitedly.

"Gahhh!" cried Chewie

"Hey Han!" said Leia.

"Whoa! What did you do to your hair?"

Leia ran her hand through her new padawan haircut and braid.

"Luke has accepted me as his padawan learner."

"NO WAY!"

"Yeah, that's what I said." Leia said, chuckling. "But what about your trip, how was it?"

Han's face clouded

"It wasn't that bad. We delivered the cargo to Coruscant without any problems, but on the way back we were attacked by those renegade Star Destroyers. But I pulled the same trick on them this time than when we escaped from them to Bespin."

"You mean you were attacked, and you attached the landing claw to the bridge until they went into hyperspace!" asked Leia incredulously.

"Yeah, then I came back here to Yavin. I'm fine!

"That's all?"

"Of course that's all. Besides, if I do get into trouble, my beautiful Jedi wife and her master will protect me! Hey Luke! How are you doing?"

"Hello Han! I see Leia has already shown you her padawan braid. You know we were going to keep it a surprise, my young padawan."

"I know master, but I couldn't help it, I was so excited to see Han back."

"Okay padawan, it's alright. So what else did you do Han?"

"What?"

"I sense something, that you did something else."

"Oh you did? Well that's interesting. You failed to mention anything else when you talked to me!" said Leia suspiciously.

"Nothing get by you, does it, Master Jedi?" chuckled Han nervously.

"Not one thing. So what did you do?"

Not much. While Chewie stayed with the ship, I decided to do some spying."

"YOU DECIDED TO DO WHAT!"

Leia grabbed Han around the neck and marched him off to their room.

"YOU AND I ARE GOING TO HAVE A LONG TALK MISTER!"

"Leia, wait!"

"What Lu... I mean master?

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side! You were afraid for Han, now you are angry at him; do not let yourself get any angrier!"

"Yes master."

"Now, I want you to continue building your lightsaber. Did you choose which color you wanted?"

"Yes master."

"Did you find the design for the hilt in the library?"

"Yes I did master."

"How much more do you have to do?"

"I'm almost done. I actually only need to install the crystal, and emitter coil, and I'm done."

"Good work, my young padawan."

"I'll get to work on it right away master."

_That afternoon_

"So, you said that you did some spying?"

It was later that day, and Luke was trying to find out what had happened

"Yeah. I went aboard one of the Star Destroyers, and found out some stuff."

"Like what?"

"As it turned out, the Destroyer that I landed on was the flagship. You know, _Vengeance._"

"_Vengeance!_"

"Yeah. Don't worry, I was fine!"

"You know, on that entirely black hull, you could have been seen easily!"

"I know that! I'm telling you, I was fine, but if you don't want to hear about the information…"

"You know, you can be very annoying at times." Luke sighed.

"What information did you find?"

"Well, I hid just inside the main bridge, and listened in on the conversation there. I found that they are going to attack…"

"It works! It works!" yelled Leia, from the other room.

She ran into the room, nearly dismembering 3PO in her excitement.

Her double-sided, deep royal purple lightsaber hummed quietly in her hands.

"Good work Leia" said Han.

"Yeah, good job, Le… I mean padawan."

"I'm so excited! I can't believe it really works!"

As Luke smiled, he was secretly amazed that Leia had made a double-sided lightsaber on her first try.

"As I was saying, the remnants of the Imperial fleet are going to attack Corellia."

"Oh no! Your home planet, Han!" cried Leia.

"Yeah." sighed Han

"We have to do something!"

"Hold on Leia. You need to calm down, and think about what you are saying. We don't even know where the fleet is right now!"

"Actually, we do."

Both Leia and Luke turned and looked at Han.

"We do?"

"Sure, I heard that when I was spying as well."

"So where are they!"

"They are probably right outside the Hoth system right now, waiting to make the jump into hyperspace."

"So let's go!" exclaimed Leia.

"Leia, you need to wait! Control your feelings. Use the Force. Think!"

"Yes master"

"Do you know how many ships are escorting the _Vengeance _to Corellia, Han? asked Leia.

"There're about five Star Destroyers, two Imperial Cruisers, and a lot of smaller ships."

"So attacking it directly wouldn't gain much, and the new Republic Fleet wouldn't be able to do anything anyway."

"Now you're using your head, padawan."

"Thank you master"

"So it's settled. We can leave tomorrow on the _Falcon_."

"Not so fast _dear_! You and I are still going to have that talk about doing STUPID stuff, without even telling me where you are, or anything!

Han looked at Luke pleadingly.

"Please Luke, don't let her do this to me."

"Sorry Han, but she is right you know. It was really stupid to do that."

"NOO! Luke, please help me!"

"I may be Luke's padawan, but I am still your wife, and I need to know where you are at all times!"

"Well right now I'm trapped between a tyrant and a heartless Jedi who won't help me."

"Very funny!"

Leia led a chuckling Han into the bedroom that they shared.

"Believe me, this talk is going to a very long one!" said Leia.

_The next day, Luke and Leia's training ground_

"I must say, I'm very impressed that you were able to make a double sided lightsaber on your first try. The color is great too. I think that I'm really going to have trouble beating you in our sparring lessons now! They both grinned at each other, neither moving an inch. Then suddenly, Leia swung one blade at Luke's head. Without stopping, she spun the other way, and stabbed at him with the other side of her lightsaber. Luke ducked the first blow, and blocked the stab with his own blade. Leia swung around and used the Force to throw a branch from a nearby tree at Luke, to distract him. Luke sprang at Leia, and began attacking her viciously, swinging his blade at every part of her body. She wielded her lightsaber expertly, blocking his every move.

"_She never used a two-sided lightsaber before! How in the world is she doing so well? She must have practiced alone all night!_" thought Luke.

Even though she was doing excellently, Leia was beginning to show signs of fatigue. Luke decided to press his advantage, swinging his lightsaber even faster at her. To his surprise, she also began to block his attacks as fast as he swung his own blade.

"_She was just faking!_" he thought.

Leia was just as tired as she had looked, but she was determined not to let that show again. When Luke attacked her even faster, she forced herself to move just as fast, to counter his blows. As she reached deeply into the Force, she mounted her own offensive. She spun quickly at him, and swung one blade, then the other, both at his face. He blocked both attacks, and Leia tried to kick him in the gut.

He spun out of the way and she overbalanced and fell. She tried to jump to her feet, but Luke was already there. He held his lightsaber directly over her heart. Slowly, he lowered it, and turned it off.

"You must remember to stay on your feet. It is very important that you do not fall while fighting." He said while helping her up.

"Yes master."

"Now, I think I have a few more things that I need to get ready before we leave. Do you have anything that you need to do?"

"Yeah, I need to say goodbye to R2 and 3PO, and make sure they don't fight again. They really do go at it sometimes. I hope the house is still standing when we get back."

"Okay." Luke chuckled. "We're leaving tonight while the Rogue Squadron can cover us until we get close to the _Vengeance_."

"Okay."

_That night_

"You know we can't go R2!" said 3PO. "I have had enough adventure to keep my circuits overheated for a long time!"

Artoo whistled a reply as he started out the door.

"Don't you call me a petrified slab of metal you little glob of grease! "Where are you going? You know that's the cargo hold of the _Falcon_, don't you? Come back!"

"Well, that's about it." said Luke.

"I just need to put the last of the supplies in, and we can go. The Rogue Squadron is just above us, in the atmosphere." said Han.

"So let's go! Come on Chewie!" said Leia.

"Alright, let's go." Han said as he sat into the pilot seat of the _Falcon_.

"I just hope we can get to them before they get to Corellia."

"Don't worry! We'll get there in time!"

"Gahhh!" cried Chewie.

"You're right Chewie; we do need to get going." Han said as he flipped a switch.

"Good, we can finally go!" shouted Leia excitedly.

"Patience, Leia, we'll get there in time."

"I sure hope so."

_The _Falcon_ blasted off low over the canopy of trees, shaking the leaves. Our heroes are anxious to get to get to Corellia, but so are the two stowaways that are hiding in the cargo hold._


	3. Remnants of the Empire chp 3

Remnants of the Empire

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Duh, I do not own Star Wars or anything else for that matter, I'm flat broke

In the blackness of space, two old friends caught up with each other.

"How are you doing? I haven't seen you since that celebration on Endor! asked Wedge happily.

"Yeah, how have you been lately?" asked Luke, curious about what his old friend had been doing since he had last seen him.

"Pretty good, we get a lot of calls from the Republic Fleet to help them out with skirmishes against those renegade ships from the remnants of the Imperial Fleet. That's interesting enough, I guess. But it's sad that so many rookies also have to go into those fights. It really gets me upset that we don't have enough experience, and that the young guys have to step up before they really should."

"I know its hard." said Luke sympathetically.

"Look out, there's an asteroid field coming up ahead!" said Han warningly.

"So, why would the Imperial Fleet want to attack Corellia?" asked Leia, trying to change the subject.

"You know I really need to concentrate, Leia." said Han tensely. "We also need to keep an eye out for ships. A ship could fly right past us and the scanner wouldn't pick it up. The asteroids interfere with it."

"Well Leia, Corellia is a huge center for trade, even though a lot of the goods are stolen. So if the remnants of the Fleet capture Corellia, the Republic would loose a lot of its economy." explained Luke.

"Thanks Luke, for the economics lesson, but you're really distracting me!" said Han tersely.

Suddenly a large asteroid came into view.

"You'd better watch out!" cried Leia.

"Look out! Get out of the way!" yelled Wedge.

"Wedge, you need to move too, there's an asteroid at your back!

"Whoa!"

Wedge quickly dodged out of the way

"I've told you, you need to keep your wits about you in an asteroid field." said Han.

"Thanks Han. I owe you one."

"I won't forget that Wedge." said Han, smiling.

"So, how do you plan on getting on to one of those ships to stop the attack? Any ship that they see approaching, they blow up." said Leia.

"Simple. We cause a distraction, you guys get in there, and we get away as fast as we can." explained Wedge.

"You mean we're going to be stranded on the flagship of the Imperial Fleet, without any way of getting off!" yelled Leia.

"That's the plan, Leia." said Han.

"Besides, they do have escape pods on board." said Luke.

"Why didn't anyone explain this to me BEFORE we left?"

"There wasn't any time. Besides, once we capture the captain of the ship, and hold him hostage, they might let us leave."  
"And if they don't let us leave?"

"Then we leave anyway."

Leia sighed.

"Next time, I am definitely coming up with the plans."  
"So we can get caught in another trash compactor?" asked Han innocently.

"No, so we don't have to go into one in the first place." said Leia angrily.

"Okay, break it up you two." laughed Luke.

"Just like old times, isn't it Luke?" chuckled Wedge.

"Just like old times."

Suddenly, an alarm light began flashing in the cabin, blaring out a warning.

"What's the matter?" asked Han.

Luke reached into the Force, to detect what was going on.

"It's a TIE fighter, coming right at us."

"Then the fleet must be around here somewhere, where else could he have come from?" asked Leia.

"Well he has a lot of guts coming right at us, when we outnumber him at least ten to one." growled Han.

"Umm, Han, I don't think we're outnumbering them, I think they're outnumbering us!" yelled Wedge.

At least twenty TIE fighters suddenly swooped down on them, firing constantly.

"Why didn't the sensors pick them up?" asked Leia.

"Han told you! The asteroid field interfered with the sensor!" cried Wedge.

"Come on Luke, the Rogue Squadron is going to need some help! Let's go teach those fighters a lesson!" yelled Leia tensely.

They ran to the gun pods, strapped themselves in, and began firing back at the TIE fighters. Even with the Rogue Squadron lending support, our heroes were outgunned severely, and began losing ground.

"We can't hold on much longer!" cried Wedge. A flaming TIE fighter shot by, narrowly missed hitting him. "We have to retreat! Han; you, Luke, Leia, and Chewie go, find the fleet, and get on with your mission. We'll lead the fighters away!"

A red beam of light lanced past the Falcon, narrowly missing Wedge's ship.

"We can't leave you!" yelled Han.

"GO!" It was not a plea, it was a command.

Another blast whizzed past them, taking out an X-Wing.

"NO! We can't leave you."

Suddenly a TIE fighter swooped past them, firing insanely. A random shot hit Wedge's ship right in the cockpit. The ship instantly exploded into a fireball, flames shooting out from where their friend had been just seconds before.

"WEDGE!" cried Luke and Han together.

"Han, it's too late! Wedge was right, we need to get out of here!" yelled Leia, taking charge.

"Gahhhh!" yelled Chewie.

"You're right" said Han, sighing.

Luke suddenly got up, and left the cockpit.

Leia looked over at Han.

"You need to pilot the ship. I'll talk to him."

Leia left the cockpit, and followed after Luke. She found him on his bunk, with his head in his hands. She walked over to him and sat down beside him.

Leia glanced over at Luke, and asked, "You okay?"

Luke didn't respond, he was staring numbly out of the window, and Leia thought she saw tears shining in his eyes.

"You okay?" she repeated.

"What? Oh… yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Leia."

Luke turned away, and tried to stem the tears. He wiped his eyes, and tried to reach into the Force to calm himself.

"I knew Wedge even when I was a little kid on Tatooine. He used to stick up for me a lot, because I was always being picked on. We had the greatest times together. When he left, I missed him a lot. Then, I finally saw him again during the Rebellion. I always just thought of Wedge as just sort of a friend, a comrade, someone that I would want to cover my back. I-I never really thought about it. He was just my friend, and I was his. I realize now that he wasn't just my friend. He died for me. He gave himself up so that we could complete some dumb mission!

He turned back to Leia, tears now flowing freely down his face.

"He was my first friend. He stuck up for me, but when he needed me, I didn't do anything!"

Leia was shocked. She had never heard Luke tell anyone about his childhood before, and he had never shown such emotion over a loss. She quickly regained her thoughts. She sighed. Speeches were definitely not her thing, especially not the heart to heart stuff, but she knew she had to do it for Luke.

"You always told me not to dwell on things that you had no control over. You couldn't have done anything to save Wedge. He died helping us, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. You need to think about it, listen to your heart and the Force, and act like the Jedi that you are."

Even later, when he looked back on that moment, Luke wasn't exactly sure what it was that broke through his despair, and made him come to his senses, but something did.

"You're right Leia."

He stood up, and smiled at her.

"You have grown so much as a Jedi, even in just a few months. I am proud to have you as my padawan.

Suddenly, Han's voice crackled over the communication system.

"Luke, Leia, get up here!"

Luke looked at Leia.

"I think it's time you put your training to the test. It sounds like Han found the Fleet."

"I think you're right."

Side by side, they both made their way to the cockpit.

_Our heroes have found the Imperial Fleet, and are now trying to find a way to get on board. Meanwhile, 3PO is concerned with far less important things._

"R2, stop it! I have had quite enough of you! I was trying to get my circuits some rest before we get to wherever we're going."

Artoo whistled in reply.

"Oh be quiet! I'm sure that wherever we're going, it is very peaceful and very safe.

Artoo beeped and whistled sarcastically.

"Don't laugh at me. Remember, it was your idea to get on this ship in the first place!"

Artoo beeped sullenly.

"Now please be quiet and let me get some rest!"

Artoo beeped mockingly as he rolled over to another corner of the hold.

"I heard that!" yelled 3PO

_Author's Note:_

Thanks guys, for the reviews. They really do help me. Stay tuned for our next chapter, "Vengeance". I should update within a week or so.

May the Force be with you!


	4. Vengeance

Remnants of the Empire

Chapter 4

Vengeance

Luke's footsteps echoed along the long hallway. He was aware of everything that was going on around him. Likewise, Leia was just as alert. They moved in perfect unison. Neither one of them talked, but they still communicated with each other. They were like shadows. Not one stormtrooper detected their presence. Finally, they reached the control room.

"Whew!" sighed Leia, relieved.

"Shh! There may still be more troops around!" hissed Luke urgently.

"_He's been on edge ever since we arrived._" thought Leia.

They had executed the same maneuver on the TIE fighters and Star Destroyers that they had before, without any problems. It worked so perfectly that Luke had become visibly suspicious. He had said that it seemed too peaceful for him. After they had gained access to the ship, Luke told Han to stay with the ship in case they had to make a fast getaway. Han hadn't liked that. He and Chewie had both protested, but Luke held firm. He told Han to find an exhaust vent, and open it. Han had blasted it completely away. Luke again told Han to stay with the ship, and then he and Leia silently dropped to the floor of the ship from the hole that Han had created.

"Do you hear that?" asked Luke, bringing her out of her memories.

"Hear what?"

Luke crouched down and laid his hand on the cool metal floor, feeling for vibrations.

"That low rumbling. It's some kind of private generator."

"_Private_ generator? What do you mean by private?"

"I mean that it is only being used to power a small area of the ship."

"How do you know?"

"It makes a higher humming sound than larger generators."

"Why would they need a smaller generator in a huge ship where they have plenty of juice? They wouldn't need another generator."

"I don't know, but we don't have time to investigate. We need to get to the bridge. Come on."

Leia and Luke hurried down the dark hallway. Suddenly an alarm began blaring, revealing dozens of stormtroopers with an eerie red light. Leia and Luke quickly stood back to back, as their hands shot to their lightsaber hilts. They both whipped them out, and ignited them, just as the stormtroopers began firing on them.

"Gahhhh!" yelled Chewie.

"I know, Chewie!"

Han slapped the wall of the cockpit angrily. He muttered under his breath moodily.

"_Yeah, make me stay. Won't make me stay. Can't BELIEVE he made me stay!_

"That's it! I'm going after them!" snapped Han.

"Gahh!"

"No, you stay with the ship."

"Gaahhhhh!"

"All right, all right, all right!"

Han grabbed his blaster pistol and Chewie grabbed his crossbow. They both then dropped through the hole. Unfortunately, their landings were a little less graceful than Luke and Leia's.

"OWWW! Chewie!"

Han rolled Chewie off of him and stood up.

"I wonder where we are."

"Gahhh!"

"What?"

Han bent down, and tried to listen.

"I don't hear anything."

"Gahhh!"

"Someone fighting?"

"Gahhh!"

"It must be Luke and Leia! Come on!"

Han and Chewie sprinted off down the hallway toward the sounds of battle.

"Oh dear, where are we?" asked Threepio nervously.

Artoo beeped nervously.

"Well, maybe we can find a computer terminal, and you can find out."

For once, Artoo whistled agreeably.

"All right then, lets go."

3PO started off down the hallway, with Artoo close behind. Suddenly, four stormtroopers rounded the corner, and spotted the two droids.

"Hey! You two! Stop right there!"

"Oh no Artoo! We must be on an Imperial Ship! Master Luke and Mistress Leia must have been captured! Run Artoo!"

"Hey! You stop right now! Go get them men!"

The stormtroopers had no trouble catching the fleeing droids and disabling them.

"Good work men. Take them to the prison level." ordered the lieutenant.

A shadowy figure followed the small band of stormtroopers, curious about their hostages. It moved silently, not alerting the troopers of it's presence at all. Suddenly it froze, and allowed the troopers to get away from it. It turned, and ran back in the other direction.

"Look out Luke, there's one behind you!" cried Leia warningly.

Luke spun, and in a single movement, disarmed the stormtrooper.

"Thanks Leia." he said calmly.

The master and padawan, brother and sister were standing back to back, in the center of the crowd of stormtroopers. Even with the Force to guide them, the two were slowly beginning to tire, while the crowd was relentless.

"We can't keep this up much longer! We're going to need to break through soon." said Leia.

"I know. I have a plan." Said Luke quietly.

"A plan?"

"Yes. Do you see that big trooper over there, the one with the rifle?"

"Which one? They're all big!"

"The one all the way to the left."

"Oh, that one?"

"Yes, that one. Now, when he fires his rifle again, I am going to break off to your left, and force a way through, and I want you follow and stop any of them from following us. Understand?"

"Yes master." Said Leia confidently.

Luke suddenly broke off to the left as the stormtrooper fired his rifle. Leia followed closely, her humming purple lightsaber blades keeping the pursuing stormtroopers at bay. Luke suddenly began sprinting away from the troopers, with Leia close on his heels. They rounded the corner, only to run directly into another squad of stormtroopers coming the other way. Luke took advantage of their surprise, and plunged into them, spinning and wielding his emerald lightsaber with ease. It seemed that it was a complete extension of his arm. He slashed and thrust with all of the skill and experience of a Jedi Master. Leia joined in the fray, using every technique that Luke had taught her, and making up new moves as well. The two Jedi's blades seemed to weld together, blending bright emerald green with deep royal purple. They broke through the squad of troopers, and continued running down the hallway. When they had lost the stormtroopers, Luke signaled Leia to stop.

"Leia, do you sense anything?"

"Do you mean that…evil feeling?"

"Yes. That is the Dark Side."

"Really?"

"Yes. That is what we are sensing."

"Who would have the power to use the Force, and especially the Dark Side?"

"I don't know, but we need to find out. Follow me. I have a plan."

"Come on Chewie!" yelled Han impatiently.

He turned around and looked at the troopers that were hot on their trail. He suddenly had an idea.

"Chewie! We need to hide in side hallway, quick!"

"Gahhh?"

"Don't ask me now! Just hurry up!"

Han and Chewie ran into a smaller hallway, and waited for the stormtroopers to pass. Suddenly, Han heard a lightsaber igniting, and saw a flash of green. The next moment, he looked down, and saw Luke's lightsaber across his throat. Chewie had one of Leia's blades across his throat.

"Han! Chewie! I told you to stay on the ship!"

"Oh yes, sorry master." said Han sarcastically.

"There was no way that I was going to stay on the ship, when you risked your life, and the life of my wife!" he yelled.

"It's okay, you two. Besides, this is not our current problem. The problem is the squadron of stormtroopers that you have brought with you." Said Leia.

"That is not a problem. We just need to stay with our plan." Said Luke confidently.

"So, great and esteemed Jedi Master, what is this plan of yours?" asked Han.

"We need to capture two… no, three stormtroopers, take their uniforms, make our way to the bridge, and capture the captain."

"That was exactly our plan!"

"Well then, let's get going." said Leia.

The squad of stormtroopers walked past, without noticing that three of their number were missing.

"I STILL can't see a thing in this helmet!" said Luke.

To anyone else in the hallway, it would seem that three stormtroopers were leading their Wookie prisoner to another prison level.

"Come on. The main bridge is this way." said Luke

The dark shadow watched the stormtroopers lead the Wookie onto the bridge. It reached into it's cloak, and pulled out a blaster. It ran across the hallway, and slipped inside the doorway just before it closed. It quickly hid behind some storage crates, and watched the events that unfolded.

"Be ready." warned Luke warily. "I sense the Dark Side of the Force very strongly in this room."

A quiet, sinister laugh filled the room.

"Very good, my esteemed Jedi master." Said a dark form, emerging from the shadows.

Luke and Leia quickly reached for their lightsabers, while Han and Chewie drew their blasters.

"So, you wish to fight? Well then, so be it."

Suddenly, six separate hidden doors opened, and dozens of stormtroopers entered the room. The dark figure reached under his cloak, pulled out a lightsaber, and ignited it. A crimson blade burst from the hilt. He stepped into the light where Luke and Leia could see him. Their foe was so twisted and mutilated, that Luke gasped.

"No! It can't be! Our father threw you into the reactor core on the Death Star!" yelled Leia incredulously

"Not quite, my young Jedi. You see, I was able to grab onto a beam, and pull myself up."

"Han and Chewie, can you handle the troopers? yelled Luke.

"Yeah, sure! You handle Palpatine!"

Sidious leapt at the two Jedi, driving them back. He whirled effortlessly, his heart rate not rising one bit, while Luke and Leia were already panting from exhaustion. Sidious Force pushed them into the wall, where they fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

"You fools! Do you really think that I could be defeated by the likes of you?" Sidious laughed.

Leia gritted her teeth. She knew that they needed to keep fighting, or Sidious would destroy them. She gathered her strength, and Force jumped over him. She spun, and blocked his swing at her neck. She swung at his chest with one blade, and brought the other down onto his head. He blocked the attacks with ease. He chuckled.

"You are much too slow, and you rely too much on just your lightsaber."

Leia's kick caught him directly in the chin.

"What was that, I didn't hear that part?" asked Leia, chuckling.

She charged at Sidious again, wielding her lightsaber with more speed than ever before. She blocked his stab at her neck, and retaliated. She stabbed at him with one blade, flipped over him, and slashed at his feet with the other blade. He jumped over the attack with grace that belied his age. As he came down from the leap, he brought his red saber down hard upon Leia. She was just barely able to get her lightsaber up to block the swing.

Suddenly, Sidious Force pushed Leia hard into the wall. She groaned, and slumped to the ground.

Luke looked at Leia. She seemed okay, but she was in no condition to fight. He crouched down, and sprang at Sidious. Luke was able to drive the Sith Lord away from his sister. He attacked with all of the strength that he had. Luke wove a glowing web around Sidious, using the most complicated techniques that he knew. He looked every inch the Jedi that he was, wielding his emerald lightsaber with all the expertise of a Master.

"You have grown even stronger since I last saw you. You don't need that puny girl with you do drag you down." said Sidious.

"You're wrong. Leia is the reason I have grown." said Luke calmly.

"You know that you cannot defeat me! Surrender now!"

"Your overconfidence is still your weakness." said Luke coolly.

"Your faith in your friends is still yours" hissed the Dark Lord savagely.

Sidious raised his hand. Brilliant blue bolts of Sith Lightning emerged from his gnarled hand. Luke was thrown against the wall as the bolts caught him in the shoulder. He glanced over at Han. He gasped as he saw that the stormtroopers had pinned both Han and Chewie down. Luke looked back at Sidious.

"Now, young Skywalker, you will die!" said Sidious evilly.

Sidious raised his lightsaber, and brought it down on Luke.

"Uuugh!"

Luke looked up in surprise at Sidious. He was holding his shoulder, and gritting his teeth. Something off in a corner caught his eye. A dark figure was standing in the shadows behind some crates, with a blaster in it's hand. The figure stepped forward. Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie gasped in recognition.

"No, it can't be!

_Ohhh, I love suspense! Sorry I haven't updated sooner, my brother has been hogging the computer, and I've had some distractions. Sorry. In our next chapter, our heroes get a shocking surprise. Stay tuned!_


	5. Decoys

Remnants of the Empire

Chapter 5

Decoys

Disclaimer: Well duh, I obviously don't own SW!

"Wedge!" yelled Luke.

Wedge's face was hard. He stared at Sidious with a hatred that Luke had never seen in his face before.

"I have lost countless friends because of you! You will not take any more from me! I swear that I will kill you Sidious!"

Wedge raised his blaster again. He aimed directly for Sidious's mutated and scarred face. Suddenly, the pistol flew out of his hand, and into the Dark Lord's.

"You fool! You are no match for the power of the Dark side!" laughed Sidious.

Wedge screamed with rage, his face as red as his enemy's lightsaber. He leaped at Sidious, punching and kicking. His attack was so fierce that it forced the Sith Lord to retreat a few steps. Finally, Sidious raised the blaster, aimed for Wedge's face, and fired.

"NOO!" yelled Leia.

Wedge flinched, waiting for the bolt to hit him. It never did. Leia and Luke deflected the bolt through the Force at the same time. Sidious snarled.

"You pathetic fools! You are too foolish to realize something that is right in front of your eyes! Do you really believe that the Empire would think some insignificant little planet that sells stolen goods would be in any way important? It was I who allowed the position of our next attack to be revealed. This is attack is nothing but a decoy, to draw away the Republic fleet and more importantly, to lure in the last two remaining Jedi in the entire galaxy!" yelled Sidious

He stood up, backed into the shadows, and disappeared.

"Hurry! We have to find out where he's going! yelled Luke.

Wedge grabbed Luke as he ran past, and pulled him back.

"Wait! We can't do anything about him right now! We need to get off this ship. Since it's not going to attack Corellia, it could be going anywhere. We need to get off the ship too.

Luke looked at Wedge.

"You're right. Let's go!"

As they ran down the hallway, Luke and Leia questioned Wedge mercilessly.

"How in the world did you survive that explosion? We all thought you were dead!" asked Leia breathlessly.

"Well, technically, my ship didn't explode." explained Wedge.

"What are you talking about! We saw your ship blow up!" exclaimed Luke.

"Well, I wasn't on that ship. I used a decoy. My X-Wing was only droid controlled."

"So we thought you were dead for nothing!" exclaimed Luke.

Wedge suddenly stopped them.

"Wait a second. I need to tell you guys something."

"So you're saying that you saw two droids that looked exactly like Artoo and Threepio being taken to the prison level?" asked Leia.

"Yeah. I thought we should check it out."

"I guess we should. Lets go."

Suddenly, Luke heard footsteps echoing along the hallway. He motioned for the other four to hide while he looked down the hallway. A pair of yellow eyes was shining farther down the dark hallway. Luke reached slowly for his lightsaber.

"Oh, Master Luke it is you!" exclaimed a voice.

"Threepio? Is that you?" called Luke.

He reached into the Force, and detected a presence that he didn't recognize. He jumped out of the way just in time as a red bolt of light flew past his head. His saber was out and blazing in an instant. His head snapped to his left. He saw a shining white helmet, and the ominous outline of an Imperial blaster. The stormtrooper raised the blaster, and fired again. Luke easily deflected the shot directly back at the trooper. As the trooper fell, another bolt whizzed toward him. He was caught completely off guard. Luke just barely ducked under the blast.

"Luke, look out!"

Luke spun toward the source of the voice. He caught a glimpse of something red flying toward him, but suddenly a purple blur filled his entire field of vision. Leia pulled her lightsaber away from his face, and turned to block another incoming shot from a blaster.

"Han! You and Wedge get Threepio, and get out of here. Chewie, follow us!" ordered Luke.

Han and Wedge grabbed Threepio's arms, and hauled him away. Luke jumped forward, with Leia and Chewie close behind. They cut a swath through the gathering crowd of stormtroopers.

"So, what's your plan?" asked Leia casually, as she deflected a bolt away.

"Well, we need to find out where R2 is being held, and get him out of here. Hopefully soon, or more troops will arrive."

"Right. Well, see you then!" Leia turned, and ran straight into the advancing stormtroopers.

"Wait! Leia!"

Luke had to spin and deflect a shot that was heading toward Chewie. When he turned back, she was gone. A trail of fallen stormtroopers marked her path. Luke gritted his teeth.

"I hate it when she does that! Come on Chewie, there is nothing we can do now."

With that, they ran in the same direction as Han and Wedge, back toward the ship.

Leia stopped. Panting, she glanced behind her.

"_Whew. I've lost them._"

She looked forward. Up ahead, the hallway branched off left and right into two directions.

"_Great. Now what do I do?"_

Leia sighed and knelt down. She closed her eyes, and probed the area through the Force. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes, and sprinted down the left hallway.

"Luke! Where's Leia?" asked Han.

"She isn't here?" asked Luke.

"I thought she was with you."

"We got separated. We'd better go look for her."

"Lets go! Chewie, stay with Threepio and the ship." Said Han.

Leia ran down the prison bay hallway. She reached out with the Force to guide her. She felt Artoo's familiar presence in a room three doors down. She ran up to the doorway, and drew her lightsaber. She ignited one blade, and in the same motion, stabbed it into the door. She cut a circular hole into the doorway, kicked it in, and stepped through the hole she had made. Leia looked at Artoo. He was tied to two spikes in the wall, hanging down. Leia used the Force to hold Artoo up while she cut his bonds.

"Come on Artoo, we need to hurry up and get off the ship!" exclaimed Leia.

Artoo whistled in agreement. He rolled after Leia, following her out of the doorway and down the hall.

Luke and Han ran down the hall, until Luke suddenly saw a shadow on the wall. He motioned to Han to get behind him. Luke crept up to the entrance to the hallway, ignited his lightsaber, and leapt out, bringing his blade down hard on Leia, who was running down the hallway. She just barely had enough time to get her blade up to block it. Luke looked at her in surprise.

"Leia! We thought you were in trouble."

"No brother, I'm fine."

Leia looked at Han.

"Sorry to worry you like that."

Han walked over to Leia and kissed her on the cheek. She kissed him back.

Artoo beeped loudly.

"Artoo's right. Come on you guys. This is not the time. We have to get going."

They looked at him, embarrassed.

"Sorry Luke." They said.

The three of them hurried down the hallway.

"Gahhhhh!" Yelled Chewbacca.

"No Chewie, we can't go looking for them, we might get lost. Besides, Han told us to stay with the ship.

Suddenly, Han, Luke, Leia, and R2 came around the bend.

"Okay, everyone's here, so let's get off this ship, finally!" said Han.

"Good idea! Let's go!" said Wedge.

The Millennium Falcon launched off the _Vengeance_ just as it blasted into hyperspace.

"Well, we need to find out where the fleet is heading, but first we need to get to Coruscant, and warn the New Republic that the Sith have survived, and the Imperial fleet is planning to strike somewhere. We need to find out where and when." Said Luke.

"Agreed. So what are we waiting for?" said Han impatiently.

Darth Sidious walked over to the viewscreen on the bridge. He turned on the hologram projector and switched it on.

"Admiral, have you recalculated your position to the Jomino system?"

"Yes Lord, we are under way to Jomino."

"Very good, Admiral.

Sidious chuckled to himself.

"Soon those two Jedi will find where the fleet has gone, and they will bring the entire New Republic Military. Those fools. They are walking into a trap. Soon my apprentice will be ready, and I will again rule the galaxy.

_Sorry! I've been away from the computer for a long while. I plan to update again soon next week. Sorry for the delay. Tune in next time for _Coruscant.


	6. Coruscant

Remnants of the Empire

Chapter 6

Coruscant

Disclaimer: Like you haven't heard this before. I don't own anything Star Wars related. We own Jask Haefkal though. She's our creation.

"There it is. Coruscant. The entire planet is one big city." said Luke.

"Oh my! I'm quite astonished. I've never seen Coruscant for myself before." said Threepio excitedly.

The Millennium Falcon blasted down into the atmosphere. As the ship broke through the spotless white clouds, the passengers were greeted with an astonishing sight. The New Jedi Temple was sparkling in the sunlight, radiating light and beauty, with the rest of the city as far as they could see, shining like silver. As Leia looked at it, she felt a tear trickling slowly down her face.

"It's beautiful."

"Yes. The Jedi Order is rebuilding. They have rebuilt the Jedi Temple, and they have regained much of their former numbers. The city is also rebuilding the areas the Empire destroyed" said Luke.

Suddenly two security ships flew up to them, and began circling the _Falcon_.

"_Please state name and cargo."_ saidone of the pilots

"This is the Millennium Falcon, with five passengers and two droids, requesting permission to land." said Han.

"_Please wait while we verify." _

"They've tightened the security quite a bit, haven't they Luke?" asked Wedge.

"Yeah, it's gotten pretty tough since the last time we came here." said Luke.

"_Permission granted. You may land at platform number 588"_

"Thank you. All right guys, lets go." said Han excitedly.

The Millennium Falcon slowly approached the landing platform. The downward thrusters kicked in suddenly with a hiss, and steam whooshed out of the ship. With a bump, the Falcon touched down. The entry ramp lowered down slowly as Luke, Leia, Han, Wedge, Chewie, and the droids walked down onto the floating platform. Their footsteps echoed on the cold metal surface, and they looked around for anyone.

"Oh, no one to meet us." said Threepio.

"I don't think so, Threepio. I sense someone coming." said Luke.

"I have a bad feeling about this." said Wedge.

A door opened on the platform, and a small group of people walked out. They were dressed in the city security uniforms, but Leia noticed that they were quite heavily armed for security officers.

"Watch it guys. This just doesn't feel right." said Leia suspiciously.

Han, Wedge, and Chewie reached for their blasters, while the two Jedi's hand's drifted slowly to their lightsabers. Without warning, the troops crouched, and opened fire.

"Gosh, can't we ever get a break?" yelled Han, as he returned fire. "First it was the whole Vengeance thing, and now this!"

"Let's just take care of these guys first!" said Luke, as he ignited his lightsaber. "Chewie, protect the droids. Han and Wedge, cover us!"

Luke and Leia charged the troops, deflecting the blasts, and advancing quickly. As they approached, the troops started to panic. Leia dove forward, and slashed violently with one of her blades. One of the men screamed in pain, as his bloody hand, still holding the blaster, hit the ground. The sight of the man's severed hand unnerved the men. They dropped their weapons, and ran frantically to the drop shaft. Luke and Leia turned and shut off their lightsabers.

"Great security, huh?" asked Leia sarcastically.

"Come on guys. We need to get to get to the Chancellor's office." said Luke, ignoring Leia.

"Which way is the Chancellor's office, anyway?" asked Han.

Luke pointed over to the left.

"It's that way. Let's go!"

Chancellor Jask Haefkal looked out of the window, at the beautiful Coruscant sunset. She sighed as she thought of how even now, after the Empire had been defeated, and freedom had won, that the peace and beauty of the New Republic could be shattered. She watched the sun finally go down, in a final blaze of glory. The Chancellor looked up suddenly, as the buzzer on her desk began beeping. She walked over to her desk, and flipped on the hologram.

"_Milady, Master Skywalker is here, with General Solo, and Captain Antilles."_

"Send them in." said the young ruler.

The Twi'lek's face brightened as the famous Jedi Knight and General entered her chamber.

"Master Skywalker! It is so good to see you again! It is good to see you as well, General Solo. It has been far too long."

"Thank you, Milady. We are glad to be back." said Luke and Han.

Chancellor Haefkal looked over at Leia. Her face lit up with pleasure.

"Hello, Leia Organa." said the Chancellor graciously. "It is wonderful to see you again."

"Thank you very much, Chancellor. said Leia, smiling happily.

"Ok, ok, sorry to break up the happy reunion, but we have more urgent things to speak of." said Wedge hastily.

The Chancellor looked at Wedge in surprise. "We do?" Jask looked at the Jedi, seeking an explanation.

"Milady, we have not come to visit. Something of grave importance has occurred." said Luke grimly. He sighed, and told her of their ordeal upon the _Vengeance_.

The eyes of the young Chancellor widened in surprise as she listened. It was as if her worst nightmares were coming to pass, right in front of her. "So, you are saying that the Emperor survived, and the remnants of the Imperial fleet are massing to attack somewhere in the Republic?" asked Chancellor Haefkal in disbelief.

"Yes, Emperor Palpatine has survived, and the fleet is preparing to attack." said Han. "We have come to warn you of the danger, and to put you on alert."

"Thank you. It is most appreciated. We will heighten security as well." said the Chancellor, quickly regaining her composure. "But I have heard that Emperor Palpatine is a Sith Lord, and also, that the Sith of old always traveled in pairs. There is always a master and an apprentice. Who is Emperor Palpatine's apprentice, if he is a Sith Lord?

"You have been well trained, my young apprentice. They will be no match for you." said Sidious, to an ominous figure in a black robe. "You must move against the girl first. She is weak, and you will have no trouble in getting rid of her.

"Yes, my master."

A sudden gust of wind rippled the figure's hood, and for an instant, Luke could see underneath it. He caught a glimpse of a scarred face before the figure pulled his hood back down.

"Luke, are you alright?" asked Leia curiously. "You look like you've seen a Sith.

"I have, Leia" said Luke quietly. "I've seen Palpatine with his new apprentice."

"What? You mean, you've had a vision."

"I don't know. It was so real. It must have been a vision from the Force."

"I'm sorry Milady. We must speak with the Jedi Council. The situation has become even more complicated." explained Luke.

"Yes, of course. I understand completely, Master Skywalker." said the Chancellor. "I will send for an air taxi immediately."

"Thank you, Milady. It is much appreciated."

Luke turned to the others, and beckoned them out of the door. "Come on. We need to get to the Jedi Temple, and inform them of this."

_Note: Thanks soo much, Sarah for reviewing. Tune in next time, for Chapter 7: The Jedi Temple. We should have it in about a week or so._


	7. The Jedi Temple

Remnants of the Empire

Chapter 7

The Jedi Temple

_--Hey guys. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry I haven't updated sooner, but we had a little miscommunication on who was going to write this chapter, me or my brother. Anyway, here it is, The Jedi Temple. Chp.7. Hope you like it!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I own Jask, Shaek (Shake), and Masters Diano (Die-an-oh) and Utaeha (Oo-tay-ah)._

As the huge doors of the Jedi Temple swung open, hundreds of heads turned to see who it was. Suddenly, a shout rang out from one of the younglings going to his next class. "It's Master Skywalker! He's back!"

As the young alien looked around, he saw that everyone was staring at him. The young Togruta blushed, and looked at his feet. Luke chuckled and walked over to the embarrassed youngling. He knelt down, and looked at the young alien. "Hello, Shaek. How are you doing?" asked Luke.

The young Togruta raised his head and smiled. "It's going great! We celebrated Master Diano's lifeday a few weeks ago, and I learned a new kata in lightsaber class."

"That's great, Shaek. It sounds like you've had an interesting time."

Luke smiled, and stood up. He looked around for Master Diano Tiin. He saw

"Masters Skywalker and Solo! You've returned." said the renowned Master. "It is very good to see you two again."

"Thank you, Master Diano. It is very good to see you as well." said Luke and Leia.

"What has brought you back to Coruscant, Master Skywalker?

Luke looked around at all of the younglings and padawans crowding in closely.

"I think we should discuss this in the Council Chamber." said Luke quietly.

"Of course. I will call an emergency session of the Council immediately." said Master Tiin.

As Master Diano walked away to find the rest of the Council members, Leia grabbed Luke's arm and asked him something that had been bothering her for a while now. "Luke, I've been wondering. I have talked to Master Tiin before. He seems to know more about the Old Republic than anyone else. Why is that?"

"Well, Master Tiin is the cousin of a great Jedi Knight named Saesee Tiin. Diano was too young to go to the temple at the time, so he survived the killings of all the younglings. As he grew older, his family kept him hidden from the Empire as they told him all about the Old Republic. That's how he knows so much. It was him who suggested me taking on you as a padawan, since that is what they did in the Old Jedi Order." explained Luke.

"Wow. I never knew that about him. That's amazing." said Leia, with surprise.

"Yeah, not many people know about Master Tiin. He doesn't tell his story very often."

Just then, a tall human walked over to them. He smiled and said, "The Council is ready to hear you now."

"Thank you." said Luke and Leia.

"Hey. What are me, Chewie, and Wedge going to do while you guys are in there." asked Han.

"You're coming in with us. Didn't you know that? You have to tell your side of the story too." said Leia.

"Oh. Okay honey." said Han, relieved.

The five of them walked slowly into the Council Chamber. It was a large circular room, on the very top of one of the Temple's huge spires. Huge windows gave the occupants of the room wide, uninterrupted views of the city. All along the outer rim of the circular room, there were twelve chairs, set up in a semi-circle. Aliens from far off planets were sitting in them. They all seemed to radiate quiet confidence and power. They all rose as Master Skywalker walked into the room.

"Greetings, Master Skywalker and to your padawan, Leia Solo." said a tall pale human. "We are all honored by your presence. We are honored by yours as well, General Solo and Captains Antilles and Chewbacca."

"Thank you very much, Masters."

"There is something you want to tell us, Master Skywalker?" asked the human.

"Yes, there is." said Luke. He proceeded to tell them the entire story. He started with Han coming home, and telling them about the plans to attack Corellia. He told them about the dogfight they had had with the remnants of the Imperial Fleet, and about Wedge using a decoy. He told them all about their time on the _Vengeance_, and the fight with Sidious. He finished with the attack on the landing platform, and their discussion with the Chancellor.

"So you see, Masters, there is a great threat to the security of the New Republic, and it needs to be dealt with quickly." said Wedge.

"Master Skywalker, you did not mention Sidious's apprentice. It is well known that the Sith always are in pairs." said Master Diano

"Yes, I know that, but Sidious was definitely alone in the room." confirmed Luke.

"If I may, Master Skywalker, did you notice anything unusual, while you were on the _Vengeance_?" asked the tall human.

"No, Master Utaeha, there was nothing." said Luke.

"Wait, Luke… I mean master, there was something." said Leia quickly.

"What are you talking about, Leia?" asked Luke.

"Do you remember the vibrations we felt in that room? You said that it was probably a small generator, separate from the main ones."

"Oh, yes I do remember that now." said Luke.

Master Diano and Utaeha looked at each other grimly. "We have heard reports of a disruption on one of the outer rim planets. We think it might be the Sith."

"So, what does this have to do with the smaller generator on the ship?"

"The planet is called Jomino. It is heavily elevated, and the air is very thin there. If the disruption is Sidious's apprentice, it might be that it is an alien that lives in thinner air. The generator might be used for taking air out of a room on the ship, to make the air thinner, so that Sidious's apprentice can still be with his master."

"That's a very interesting deduction. I think that my padawan and I will have to go to the archives and find what kind of alien it could be." said Luke. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you as well, Master Skywalker." said the masters.

_Later, in the Temple's archive library_

"Luke! Come here, I think I found something!" shouted Leia.

"What is it? What have you found?"

"Listen to this." said Leia excitedly.

Her monitor showed a large picture of a large, strong looking reptilian alien. Luke read the info chart, as Leia scrolled down.

"_Species: Ruwoy, Home Planet: Youd (Yowd). This sentient creature is well suited to high elevations and thin air, although it is perfectly capable in normal altitudes."_

"That would explain how it would live on Jomino." said Luke. "Keep going."

"_There is very little else known about this species, because they have almost never been known to let outsiders inside their culture."_

Luke sighed. He turned to Han. "It's time to warm up the Falcon again."

_I guess this was a little more than a week. Sorry. I really think I can get back to updating in two weeks. Sorry this chapter was kinda short. I'll definitely make it up to you guys next chapter. Tune in next time for Chapter 8. The Plot Thickens. What a great name for a chapter!_


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